Gb. Wilson et al., THE NITROGEN ISOTOPE COMPOSITION OF GROUNDWATER NITRATES FROM THE EAST MIDLANDS TRIASSIC SANDSTONE AQUIFER, ENGLAND, Journal of hydrology, 157(1-4), 1994, pp. 35-46
The N-15/N-14 composition of nitrates dissolved in groundwaters from 2
3 abstraction sites in the East Midlands Sherwood Sandstone are report
ed. Dissolved N2/Ar ratios are, with two exceptions, consistent with a
tmospheric input and show that denitrification does not occur througho
ut most Of the aquifer, The nitrogen isotope composition of nitrates d
issolved in the groundwaters can be shown not to have been mixed or fr
actionated to any significant extent within the aquifer. The observed
(deltaN(NO3))-N-15 isotopic variations are attributed to four nitrate
sources, all of which are associated with agricultural land use.